Lucky Number Seven
by Tadpole24
Summary: It was a stormy night when her mind came to that conclusion; that she wanted Booth to reassure her and be with her. It was a sunny day, out in the middle of nowhere that her heart caught up. Season 6 Speculation and mild spoilers :


**This was born from an intense need to just write...something. lol. I hope it's not too rough. **

**Based around some spoilers and some speculation for season 6 (which will be here in just under 10 days!)**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Bones, I'd be off writing fluff scenes for Booth and Brennan instead of fanfic ;)**

**Enjoy.**

..:::..

Lucky Number Seven

..:::..

She sits at her desk, staring at a glass of water near her computer. She lets her eyes go unfocussed and watches the glass go foggy and unclear, then allows her eyes to focus again and watches the water materialise before her again. She repeats the process over and over, not realising how long she has been sitting there, letting her mind wander to thoughts she wishes would cease to exist. Eventually she notices that her office is getting darker, the light of the sun disappearing in the last hours of the day. She allows the glass to go out of focus once more and brings it back into her vision before standing with a sigh and turning on a light.

She takes a moment to look around her office. She's been back from Maluku less than 3 weeks and she notices everyday that something is different. Yesterday she noticed that her couch was on an angle that she had never put it on, the week before she realised papers that she'd left lying around the room 7 months ago had been picked up and hastily placed on a shelf that was clearly not for papers and 3 days before that she had noticed a thin layer of dust all over one of her small tables, something that the cleaners had no-doubtedly overlooked in her absence. She sweeps the room again for any sign of something different and finds that today everything seems in order.

A wave of a feeling she can't quite define runs through her and she realises that things are returning to normal. She walks back to her seat and moves her cursor on the computer screen to exit the screensaver mode. Staring at the report she had been half way through several hours ago, she realises that she has no idea what she was up to. She turns her attention to the glass of water again, trying to think of what she had been about to write before her thoughts had been interrupted by Booth.

_No._

She promised she would try and stop thinking about him. He was happy now, he had Hannah and she had gotten what she wanted, which was to be alone. Right?

_Right._

Except that it isn't right anymore. Seven months is a long time to think about things. It's enough time to think certain things to near death. Certain things like how much she really did care for her partner. She had thought that worrying about him constantly while they were at home was unbearable. Going so long in separate countries without any form of contact was doing her head in. She had faced armed guerrillas in the Indonesian jungle; she couldn't imagine the horrors of Booth's world. She worried constantly for his wellbeing and safety, she longed to hear his voice, for him to tell her it was all going to be okay and that when all was said and done, they were going to be together.

It was a stormy night when her mind came to that conclusion; that she wanted Booth to reassure her and be with her. It was a sunny day, out in the middle of nowhere that her heart caught up.

Her mind returns to the case that she and her partner had solved just that morning. The bullet had perforated the...

She taps her pen against the hard wood of her desk, rubbing at her temples with the other hand. With a resigned sigh, she saves the file and pushes her chair back, knowing that tonight she won't get any more work done. She's hungry and, glancing at the time, she understands why.

8:30pm.

Usually Booth would have scooped her up from her desk and forced her to eat something for dinner. Or he would have just plain out brought the food to her for them to munch on while they finished writing up reports. But since they've been back, Booth hasn't let his presence grace the Medico Legal Laboratories, apart from telling Brennan they had a case and saying a quick hello to the squint squad. He has separated himself from the science completely, choosing to instead meet either at the scene or at the Hoover building.

Brennan has been out to lunch with him once since their return and that encounter was hampered by a certain blonde woman. Since then, they haven't eaten a meal together.

She scoops up a few files and her handbag and walks towards the exit, eager to pick up some Thai on her way home and spend the night working on writing up some findings from the Maluku project. Though she had returned early, the team had asked her to stay in contact and help with the administrative side of things even if she couldn't tackle the physical side of the project anymore.

She looks back at her office, making sure all the lights are out before heading through the glass doors and walking straight into Seeley Booth.

"Booth!"

She leans over to pick up the papers she has dropped in the collision, "What are you doing here?"

He bends to help her, "Nice to see you too, Bones." He says with a chuckle, handing her a few sheets of paper.

"Thanks, and you know what I mean, I haven't exactly seen you around here lately." She gestures towards the door and starts walking that way hoping that Booth will follow and continue talking as they walk.

"It's just been busy, you know, with Hannah and getting back into the swing of work."

She opens her car and places the pile of paperwork she's been carrying on her passenger seat. She doesn't have to say anything and Booth knows that she's getting ready to leave.

"Have you eaten tonight?"

He shakes his head, "No."

She gestures towards her car, "Come on, we'll go grab something."

..:::..

She hasn't been to the diner since the day she met Hannah, but Booth insists that he has a craving for apple pie which can't be satisfied by mediocrity. It's easy being with him here, in their place. They take their regular seats without missing a beat and their coffee is poured before either one of them has to signal a waitress over. It's simple and it's too easy.

"So, where's Hannah tonight?" Brennan knows it's not her business, but Booth used to tell her everything, so why should that have changed?

He takes a bite of his pie and moans in delight, taking a moment in bliss before answering, "She's uh, she's out of town on business..." He scoops up another bite of pie and offers it towards Brennan who politely shakes her head, a habit neither one of them have shaken, "You know how it is, journalist and all."

"Objectively, I wouldn't say I know how 'it' is as I have never been a journalist, but I can imagine, yes."

Booth pauses, a forkful of pie halfway to his mouth and just smiles at her, "I've missed you, you know?"

"I missed you too." Somehow, through her ears, her sentiment sounds much more loaded than his did, "I missed everyone."

_Good save._

Booth places his fork down and swallows his mouthful, "Things with Hannah...they haven't worked out."

Brennan looks up at him, trying to dissect his words, "I don't know what that means."

He reaches across the table, "It means that she's flying out tomorrow morning, heading back to Afghanistan."

"I don't know what to say, Booth. I'm sorry that she's going. I know she made you happy."

He takes her hand, giving it one last shot, "She couldn't have met the standard anyway." He stares at her for a good few moments, the intensity between them crackling, ready to fire like lightening, making sure she understands, "I better head home." He stands and begins to walk towards the door, but stops on his way, turning back once more, "You're welcome any time."

She watches as Booth steps out into the night air and starts walking towards the lab to pick up his car. Turning back to her salad, she pushes it across the table, suddenly nervous; as though she is going on her very first date. She takes a moment to stare at the coffee sitting across from her, allowing it to become foggy in her vision before coming back into sharpness, she had to give him a little head start..

Her mind was made up the second he vocalised his last statement, she would be seeing Booth again tonight.

And every night for the next 30 or 40 or 50 years.

..:::..

**Let me know how you went :)**

**Em**

**xx**


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